Duet of Truth
by Z98
Summary: Misato signs Asuka up for violin lessons. The redhead doesn't take it well, but she isn't the only one doing extra activities. Shinji is taking martial arts. Will their teachers be able to wake them up to reality?


Misato signs Asuka up for some violin lessons to get her mind off of her low sync rate. Needless to say, her private teacher is going to need a lot of patience and strength to keep the redhead under control. Also, I modified some parts so Tokyo 3 was not destroyed. It's still there, but not that many people still live in the city, and also the rest are being evacuated.  
  
Asuka: Z!  
  
Oh crap, how did she get past the defensive network? Cabal, report!  
  
Cabal: An AT-Field has neutralized the effect of the Firestorm Shield.  
  
On crap. Gotta go before Asuka kills me! Oh, and I don't know anything about martial arts.  
  
Duet of Truth  
  
Chapter 1: Out of Tune  
  
"What!"  
  
The entire apartment shook from Asuka's outburst.  
  
"I signed you up for some violin lessons," Misato repeated, trying to get the echo out of her ears, "You need something to occupy your time and this was the best way I could think up of."  
  
"You're only doing this because my sync rate isn't high anymore!" Asuka screamed, "You're going to replace me!"  
  
"Asuka, we're not doing anything of the sort," Misato insisted, "Besides, this'll be good for you. You're already good with the violin and with some help you'll be even better. You need to think about what you're going to do once all of the Angels have been defeated."  
  
"I'm an EVA pilot!" Asuka continued ranting stubbornly, "I will not be pushed aside!"  
  
"Asuka, no one's pushing you aside. Besides, this guy is from Germany. Wouldn't it be nice to speak to someone in your native language for a change?"  
  
"I don't care! I am not taking these violin lessons! Besides, Shinji doesn't have to take cello lessons. Why should I have to take violin lessons?"  
  
Misato shook her head tiredly. This was not going well.  
  
"Shinji has to be on alert at all times. Besides, right now we only have two Evangelions ready for duty. Unit 01 will only accept Shinji so that means there are three pilots total that can pilot Unit 02."  
  
"No way Wondergirl is touching my EVA!"  
  
Misato ground her teeth. Asuka was not budging an inch and it was seriously wearing down on her at the moment. Asuka needed to get her mind off of EVA and back onto her own life.  
  
"Fine. Where do you propose we put the other pilots?" Misato asked her, "Unit 00 has been destroyed and Unit 03, if you don't remember, was ripped to shreds."  
  
"I don't know! Get some more EVA units!"  
  
"EVA units are extremely expensive. Now stop whining, Asuka. It's unbecoming of a young lady. Your first lesson is after school and I suggest you get to school now."  
  
All Asuka could do was stare angrily at Misato before dashing out of the apartment for school. It was so unfair that she had to take violin lessons while Shinji and Wondergirl didn't have to do anything. Besides, they were the ones that really needed it. She could easily play in any symphony orchestra in the world and yet she was stuck being 'taught' by a private teacher. Likely the 'teacher' would just send her away and tell Misato that Asuka didn't need any tutoring. A smug smile appeared on Asuka's face at the thought of that.  
  
Shinji had already headed out to school so Asuka didn't have anyone to walk with her. And instead of walking, she ran most of the way to school. Most people she passed only saw a red shape go past them, that being Asuka trying to get to the school as fast as she could. She opened the doors to her class and walked in. Hikari was talking to Toji and the two were blushing again. Asuka did not know what Hikari saw in that boy, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it without hurting her best friend. That was one of the few things she tried to avoid. When Hikari saw Asuka she pecked Toji on the cheek and walked over to Asuka. Both were now nearly completely red, their blushes so fierce.  
  
"Good morning Asuka," Hikari greeted, trying to fight down her blush.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Something wrong?" the class rep asked.  
  
"Misato signed me up for violin lessons," Asuka replied, "She had no right to do that!"  
  
"I'm sure you're good at the violin," said Hikari, "I'm sure Major Katsuragi is just trying to do what's best for you."  
  
"Yeah whatever. But I don't need violin lessons. I'm as good as anyone in Tokyo 3 and she thinks someone can actually teach me? Ha! I could probably teach most of the old buzzards things they never even dreamed of!"  
  
"Maybe," said Hikari, "but right how you're stuck with this. Just get through with it. It can't be that hard to take some lessons."  
  
"Misato signed me up for thirty lessons," Asuka informed her friend, "Every other day."  
  
Hikari nodded understandingly. Asuka usually let her ego get in the way of things, and this time was no different. If she just let go for maybe five seconds, she would see that more people than she thought cared about her.  
  
"Anyways, it's your turn to flower the plants," said Hikari, "Class starts in six minutes so I suggest you hurry."  
  
Asuka grumbled but did as Hikari told her. She took the watering pot and filled it up. After that she made sure all of the plants were properly watered before putting the pot away and sitting down at her desk. Hikari was talking to Toji again.  
  
Shinji and Kensuke were sitting back and waiting for class to start. Kensuke was also taping Toji and Hikari's conversation. According to him it would be worth his while later on. He either meant for it to be blackmail material or was probably going to edit the tapes he had of the two and make a music video and sell it to them. That boy had a lot of ideas on how to make money. Shinji looked at his watch again. Still three more minutes before class started. It was rather strange, usually he didn't want class to start but today he couldn't wait for it to begin. So far he had been lucky that Asuka hadn't started yelling at him about the violin lessons. What would be even worse was if the redhead found out he was the one who suggested them, not Misato. He just prayed that that never happened. Finally the bell rang and their teacher walked in. To their surprise, instead of their old teacher, it was a young woman carrying a clipboard. She was probably around twenty-five and not Japanese. She had light green eyes and silky blond hair. Kensuke immediately pulled out his camera and started recording.  
  
"Hello class," she said in almost flawless Japanese, "I am Amanda Virtues. Your old teacher has retired and I will take over for him."  
  
This caused discussions to start everywhere in the class and Amanda let it go on for a few seconds before holding up her hand and silencing them.  
  
"Now that you know, I suggest we get on with your lessons."  
  
She looked at her clipboard and flipped to the attendance sheet. After making sure everyone was here, she put the clipboard down and wrote something on the board. She then turned around to address the class.  
  
"Instead of your usual lectures on the Second Impact, I will be teaching you other things. Most of them might seem dull to you, but at least you won't be hearing the same thing over and over again for the next few years. Our first subject will be science. Your grade is supposed to be in biology, and I assume that most of you know the basics. Our biology unit will also include your sex education." Those two words managed to get the attention of most of the male portion of the class, Amanda noted. Boys would be boys so she didn't think too much about it.  
  
"The first thing we will cover, however, is the new biotechnology of the twenty-first century."  
  
You could almost hear the unspoken moan emanating from the boys. Amanda simply continued with her lecture.  
  
"Before the turn of the century, scientists were making great progress in genetic engineering and human cloning. Both of these were considered extremely controversial issues back then and there was fierce debate regarding the ethics involved. However, after the Second Impact, funds for such research increased rather than decreased and today we are able to do things considered miracles back then. Cures for many kinds of cancers was created using genetically engineered bacteria that hunted down and ate cancer cells. This new kind of bacteria carried a modified gene that made it identify cancer as food. Because of this one new piece of technology, most cancer cases today are cured easily. A few still resist our attempts to defeat them, but over time we can overcome them. Another problem we've mostly fixed is genetic disorders. Who knows what that is?"  
  
Amanda looked out at the class and saw no one raising their hand. She hadn't really expected them to, but she still needed to gauge their cooperation level. She simply picked someone.  
  
"Mr. Ikari. What is a genetic disorder?"  
  
Shinji was caught by surprise by the teacher's question and fumbled for an answer.  
  
"Uh, well, uh, a genetic disorder is, well, a problem that, uh, rises from damaged or improperly coded genes."  
  
"It's nice to see you can speak properly," Amanda said with a smile.  
  
A few other students laughed and Shinji blushed. He really hadn't expected the teacher to call on him, but he doubted anyone else did either.  
  
"Ms Horaki. What is one kind of genetic disorder?"  
  
Hikari took the question in and tried to think of an answer. They had learned about them before, but it was a while ago. Finally she came up with one.  
  
"Six fingers?"  
  
"Not really," said Amanda, "Six fingers comes from a dominant allele and isn't a disorder, though many people think it is. Good try though. Mr. Suzuhara. Do you know of one?"  
  
"No ma'am," Toji said.  
  
Amanda nodded. Suzuhara had managed to answer with a degree of confidence, which was more than she could say for the Ikari boy. Then Asuka caught her eye. She simply sat there and normally would have been overlooked except for the fact that she had a mocking look on her face.  
  
"And what of you, Ms Soryu? Do you know of any genetic disorders?"  
  
That look on Asuka's face disappeared and Amanda almost started doubting she had seen it. However, her memory was very accurate and she knew herself too well to think she had imagined it.  
  
"Body chemical imbalance," Asuka answered.  
  
"That's a possibility of what could happen if you have a genetic error in your genome. Of course, there are many other things that can cause chemical imbalances. One is a head injury, another is a traumatizing event, such as the death of a family member. It hasn't been proven yet, but many psychiatrists and doctors believe that a person's body might actually intentionally change the makeup of their chemicals accidentally because of something the person goes through. Usually this would happen at a young age when the child is unable to accept it properly and can change a person's life forever. Again, a death of someone close is usually the worst thing that could happen."  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
Everyone looked at Asuka in surprise. She had leapt out of her desk and looked like she was ready to burst. Amanda wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but Asuka's face had the look of intense pain on it.  
  
"Ms Soryu, are you okay?"  
  
Asuka then seemed to notice what she was doing and meekly sat down. She could not believe she had screamed out like that. That was possibly the most embarrassing she had ever done.  
  
"I'm fine," she said softly.  
  
Amanda seriously doubted that but let it go. She had already read the files that NERV had supplied her regarding the EVA pilots. She did not need to be a psychiatrist to know that all of the pilots had more problems than a normal teenager would. It was most likely the nature of their work. She continued with her lecture and had the students take notes. Providing how well they took notes, they would either do well or poor when she gave them the pop quiz later in the afternoon. It would be interesting to see their reactions as they would get to use their notes for the quiz. If they were good, they should have no problem. However, if their notes were filled with bs, then they were in trouble.  
Asuka ate her lunch slowly. Shinji, as usual, had cooked an excellent meal but she barely tasted it. Hikari noticed her friend's current dilemma and tried to talk to her.  
  
"Asuka, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me."  
  
"I know," Asuka replied, "It's just that, well, I'm not ready to tell anyone yet."  
  
"That's okay," said Hikari, "Whenever you're ready, I'll be here for you."  
  
"Thanks Hikari."  
  
Asuka settled back, still feeling rather uncomfortable with herself. She finished eating her meal in silence, not even aware that Hikari and Toji were talking to each other and Shinji and Kensuke were close by. Normally she would have at least insulted those two fifty times on a given day, but today was different. So far, she had not uttered a single word to the two of them. Even Asuka was starting to notice her strange behavior. Well, that was certainly going to change.  
  
"Hey, Stooges, why are you even here?"  
  
"Because we're with Toji, and Toji is with Hikari," Kensuke replied, "So why are you here? I don't see anyone willing to let you steal their soul."  
  
"Souls like yours aren't worth taking," Asuka shot back.  
  
Now this would have gone on for the rest of lunch but someone else appeared.  
  
"Shinji."  
  
"Hey Kaworu."  
  
Saying Kaworu's name around Asuka was something that most health consultants would advise against. However, what Shinji didn't know was that at the moment Asuka just couldn't summon the will to hit him or Kaworu. She wanted to scream out all of her frustration but couldn't manage to do so. Shinji was starting to back away nervously from her, hoping against all hope Asuka kept it together. Kaworu quickly took in the situation and came up with a way to defuse it, or at least make it less dangerous.  
  
"So how is the ravishing pilot of Unit 02 doing?"  
  
Of everything Asuka had expected the new pilot to say, that wasn't even on her list. She had expected Kaworu to gloat or something, and might have even wanted him to just to give her an excuse to beat the living crap out of him. Now all she could do was stare at him, not moving a muscle. The others were all in a similar condition. They had all noticed that Asuka was, touchier, than before and that it wasn't healthy for them to upset her. That and Shinji had made sure Kensuke and Toji didn't do anything stupid. Asuka stopped staring at Kaworu and looked down at her lunch. It was only half eaten and she only had five minutes left. She quickly started gulping it down.  
  
Kaworu sat down next to Shinji and shot a smile at the redhead. Shinji could only look nervously between the two. One spark could blow everything up in his face. Fortunately for all of them, the bell rang. Unfortunately, that relief was only temporary.  
The school day had ended and the students were filing out. Most of the students were grumbling about the pop quiz that the new teacher had given them, most especially Asuka. Toji, Hikari, and Shinji had cleanup duty so Asuka had no one to walk with. However, today it didn't matter. She needed to get to her violin lesson, and despite how much she wanted to avoid it, she could not. Misato would probably go ballistic if she skipped it. She quickly ran out of the classroom.  
  
Shinji let out a sigh of relief when Asuka disappeared. For the entire day he had managed not to get yelled at. He continued to mop the floor as he contemplated what he was going to do about Asuka. He couldn't keep dodging her and even Asuka would start noticing. Besides, they lived in the same apartment and that would be impractical. Shinji sighed again. Toji and Hikari were off in a corner whipping off the desks and also talking to each other. Even from where Shinji stood he could see their blushes. He felt happy for Toji. He had found someone he cared about and someone that cared for him as well. If only Shinji himself were so lucky.  
  
"Mr. Ikari?"  
  
Shinji jumped and faced the teacher.  
  
"Yes sensei?"  
  
"I didn't mean to scare you, but can I talk with you for a few minutes?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Shinji followed Amanda into the hallway and stopped behind her. Amanda turned and faced him.  
  
"Before I took this job, I was given the profile of the three EVA pilots in this school," she said, "Within them were psychological evaluations. Do you know what yours said?"  
  
Shinji shook his head, but he had a pretty good idea.  
  
"It wasn't exactly complimenting," said Amanda, "It said you lack any sort of self-confidence when life is involved and that you sometimes seemed to consider suicide."  
  
"I'm not exactly surprised," said Shinji, "at least about the self- confidence part. However, I've never considered suicide."  
  
"That's good," said Amanda, "However, that isn't what I wanted to talk about. As a teacher, I try to help my students with all of their problems. I may know of a way to help you with your self-confidence."  
  
"I appreciate the effort, but I don't want to be a burden."  
  
"Mr. Ikari, I wouldn't be doing my job if I just let you go," said Amanda, "Just give me a chance."  
  
Shinji considered the offer and finally nodded. Unknown to him, Amanda also knew about his willingness to satisfy others and had exploited it, though for his own good.  
  
"After you finish cleaning up, come to the teacher's lounge. I'll wait for you there."  
  
"All right. I'll see you later, Ms Virtues."  
  
"You can call me Amanda."  
  
Shinji cracked a smile and nodded before walking off. Amanda watched the young man return to the classroom. There was a lot of potential in that boy, if only he would admit it.  
Asuka waited for the train to stop. After a few minutes, it finally did so and the doors slid open. Asuka got off and walked off towards the concert hall. She asked the secretary at the desk and was directed to the room where her private teacher would be. She knocked on the door and a tall man opened it. To her surprise, the man was in his late twenties, had dark brown hair, green eyes, and was actually rather handsome. However, Asuka quickly reprimanded herself for having such thoughts. To her, Kaji was still the only man for her, and he was dead.  
  
"You must be Asuka," he said to her in German, "I am Lucas Herman. Come."  
  
Lucas turned around and moved out of the way. Asuka walked in and found the room was rather large. There was a piano and a violin case on one of the chairs on the room. Music was on the stand and Asuka caught the name Beethoven on it. She had played many of Beethoven's works and was familiar with his style.  
  
"Do you have a piece you're working on?" Lucas asked.  
  
"No," Asuka answered, "I have been kind of busy."  
  
"Of course. Well, let's see how well you play this."  
  
Lucas took out a large book and opened it to a page. Asuka unpacked her violin and tuned quickly. She then examined the music. It was the partitas from Bach's Six Sonatas. She had played it when she was eight and hadn't found it too difficult. She took a deep breath and started playing. Lucas simply sat back and observed. Normally he would not have cared to take on a student, but Kaji Ryoji was a good friend and because Misato was his girlfriend he had made an exception. Hopefully this wouldn't come back and bite him. Right now, he just needed to make an assessment of the girl's abilities. She showed a natural flow for playing the violin, and apparently she had learned this piece before. That wasn't too surprising, as many people still enjoyed the third Partitas. Even though the dynamic markings were few and far between, Asuka still changed from loud to soft and back to loud often. That showed some initiative when it came to playing music, and that was good. Perhaps it was a good idea to have taken her on. The song was rather lengthy and it took a while for her to finish. Once she did, she placed the violin in rest position and waited for Lucas' comments.  
  
"Impressive," Lucas said in German, "Not too many people at your age have that kind of prowess. However, with all things, there is room for improvement."  
  
Asuka didn't take that last part very well, Lucas noted.  
  
"And where exactly can I improve?" Asuka asked sourly.  
  
"In quite a few places, actually. Overall, you are extremely well-balanced with how you hold your violin, bow, how you play, and how your fingers touch the strings. Your vibrato is also good and accuracy is impeccable. However, you played through the piece with an impatient attitude. That attitude caused you to make mistakes where you should not have had any trouble. From what Ms Katsuragi told me, you don't want to be here. I understand that, but what you must understand that as a teacher it is my job to get you to improve in whatever area is your weakness. Currently your weakness is your arrogance. You don't like hearing this, but I suggest you deal with it. I rarely take students on, and it's only because Kaji was a good friend of mine that I accepted you."  
  
"You knew Kaji?" Asuka said.  
  
"We met in Germany when he and Misato joined the NERV Branch in Germany. Now, I am doing him and her a favor by taking you on. Try to actually let me teach you. Otherwise, both of them have gone to a lot of trouble for nothing."  
  
In a normal case Asuka would have exploded already. However, Lucas was not what she had expected. She had thought he would be another old violinist that was taking on a student for extra money. However, apparently he was teaching her because Kaji and Misato had asked for his help. But that still did not make too much sense. Why would anyone want to help her? No one cared about her. She only had herself.  
  
"Now, are you ready to get down to work?"  
  
A fiery blaze seemed to shine in Asuka's eyes. She was going to show this man that she was better than what he thought. She was going to show everyone. She nodded.  
Shinji walked into the teacher's lounge and found Amanda writing down the grades from their quizzes. He knocked on the doorway and her head shot up.  
  
"Oh, Ikari. Hold on for a sec."  
  
She quickly scribbled something down on her paper and closed the folder. She put them away onto her shelf and walked over to him.  
  
"Let's go," she said.  
  
"Where to?"  
  
"Just trust me," she said.  
  
Shinji followed her to her car and got in. It was a red sports car, a similar model to Misato's, but looked newer. However, considering all that Misato's car had been through, Shinji wouldn't have been surprised if it was only two years old. Amanda drove them downtown and stopped in front of what looked like temple. They got out and the two walked in. Inside was a large sparring ground, where five other teens around his age were. There was also an old man watching the five fight. The floor was a big red mat and the five teens were fighting around an area that a large circle encompassed. The walls were a tan color and had some sticks leaning against them.  
  
"Umm, Amanda, why did you bring me here?"  
  
"To get you to learn some self-confidence," Amanda replied.  
  
The man noticed them and raised a hand. The five teens stopped fighting and he walked over to Amanda.  
  
"It's good to see you again."  
  
Amanda bowed. "It's a pleasure to be back, sensei. Shinji, meet my old teacher, Mizumi Yera. He's a martial arts teacher and also a very kind man at heart."  
  
"You flatter me Amanda. Who is this?"  
  
"He's name is Shinji Ikari."  
  
"Ah, the legendary Evangelion pilot. Why did you bring him here?"  
  
"I thought you could help him with some confidence issues he has."  
  
Mizumi broke out in laughter.  
  
"Shinji Ikari, have confidence problems? From what I've heard, you've faced down the most powerful creatures in the world. What problems would you have?"  
  
"Umm, I guess I just don't like to confront personal issues," Shinji confessed.  
  
"Ah. Now that you put it that way, I guess I understand your situation. Very well. Amanda, I assume you're doing this through the school?"  
  
"Yes. I already have permission from the principal. Not that he bothered to debate the issue after I mentioned contacting NERV about it."  
  
"Hmm. Good tactic. I'll have to remember that. Shinji, come this way."  
  
"Shinji, just let us help you, okay?"  
  
Shinji looked at Amanda and nodded. She then waved goodbye and left the dojo. Shinji followed Mizumi and he walked up to the rest of the students.  
  
"Everyone, this is Shinji Ikari. He'll be joining us for a while."  
  
"Shinji Ikari?" one of the girls said, "Hey! You're the EVA pilot! Please tell us about your battles!"  
  
"Huh?" Shinji was still slightly unused to all the attention people gave him because he was a pilot.  
  
"Enough of that later," Mizumi said firmly, "Yukito, show Shinji the lockers and get him a uniform. He'll need them."  
  
"What is he right now?" the boy named Yukito asked.  
  
"He's still a beginner, so just give him a white belt."  
  
Yukito nodded and motioned for Shinji to follow him. The two walked to the lockers and went in. Once the door closed, Yukito glared at Shinji.  
  
"Don't think that just because you're an EVA pilot you're better than us," he said.  
  
"I don't," Shinji replied.  
  
"Good. There are the uniforms. Find a matching size and change into it. Be quick about it. We still have drills to finish and try to keep up."  
  
Yukito waited by the door while Shinji got the clothes and changed. The two boys reentered the training ground and joined the class. Shinji noticed that the girl that had spoken before was also wearing a white belt.  
  
"Today I want all of you to train within your various groups. Help each other, and don't do anything you're not ready for. Disperse."  
  
There was another white, also a girl. Shinji assumed they were grouped by belt color so he walked over to them.  
  
"Hi," the first girl said, "I'm Yukari. This is Laureate."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"I assume you're new at this," said Laureate.  
  
Shinji nodded.  
  
"We can show you what we're practicing," said Yukari, "First thing's first. If you're going to fall, you might as well minimize the damage. Here, give me your hand."  
  
Shinji extended it nervously. He had held hands with few girls, if any. Yukari took it and held it firmly.  
  
"I'm going to flip you over. Are you ready?"  
  
"What!"  
  
Yukari didn't wait any longer and flicked her wrist and arm. Shinji flipped over and landed on his back. He groaned and rubbed it. This was nothing compared to fighting in an EVA, but now it was real.  
  
"Hmm. You seem to have natural instincts when it comes to falling," Yukari noted.  
  
"Probably because I do it a lot," Shinji replied.  
  
Laureate giggled and offered her hand. Shinji took it and the girl helped him back onto his feet.  
  
"Want to try that again?" Yukari asked, grinning.  
  
"No thanks."  
  
"We should move onto some other things," said Laureate, "We can't have you keep flipping poor Ikari here."  
  
"You're right. How about learning how to block?"  
  
Shinji nodded. The two girls demonstrated for Shinji and then had him practice. Both girls threw a few punches at him slowly so he could get the hang of it at first. They then proceeded faster and faster. Finally, they started throwing kicks at him. Shinji found that dodging them was far more effective than blocking them, and didn't hurt too. The two attacking girls moved quickly but not exactly gracefully. They knew what they were doing, but Shinji saw why they were white like him. They still lacked experience and true skill. Just then, Yukari aimed a strong kick at his side. Shinji grabbed her leg and twisted his waist, picking her off the ground and throwing her over. She landed hard on the ground.  
  
"Yukari!"  
  
Yukito ran over and helped the girl up. He then walked up to Shinji and shoved him.  
  
"What the hell were you doing?"  
  
"Nothing!" Shinji protested.  
  
"It's okay," Yukari said, "I just didn't expect him to be able to do that. Guess I've learned my lesson."  
  
"You sure you're okay?" Yukito asked her.  
  
"I'm fine. And leave Shinji alone. He hasn't done anything he isn't supposed to. This is training, and that will happen again."  
  
Yukito glared at Shinji one more time before rejoining his group. Mizumi had seen the whole thing but didn't bother to intervene. Right now, Yukari could handle him and from the looks of it Shinji would soon be able to defend himself better.  
  
Yukari walked over to Shinji and started laughing.  
  
"That was impressive," she said, "I never considered you would be able to pull a move like that."  
  
"What did I do?" Shinji asked.  
  
"You caught her kick and turned it on her," said Laureate, "Great job."  
  
Shinji managed a smile but it quickly disappeared.  
  
"Who is Yukito?"  
  
"He's my twin brother," said Yukari, "He's extremely protective of me and still has some problems with anger management. That's why our parents sent him here with me."  
  
A dark look appeared on Shinji's face. He remembered another brother that was extremely protective of his little sister. And Shinji had been the one to hurt her.  
  
"I something wrong?" Yukari asked.  
  
"No. It's just that my friend's little sister got hurt because of me."  
  
"Oh. Well, don't worry too much. I'm not that brittle and I can take as well as I give. So don't worry about it. You seem like a really nice guy so stop thinking you're responsible for everyone."  
  
Shinji smiled and nodded.  
  
"Should we get back to training?" Laureate asked them.  
  
"Let's," Yukari agreed.  
Shinji dialed the phone number and got hold of Misato.  
  
"Misato? Can I get a ride home? Okay. Do you have the address? You do? How? Oh, okay. I'll see you soon."  
  
Shinji hung up the phone and got his stuff. He then went outside to wait for Misato. It didn't take long for the blue sports car to be roaring down the street skidding to a stop in front of him. Shinji got in and buckled the seatbelt. He would probably need it to keep from being thrown around.  
  
"So Shinji, do anything worthwhile?" Misato asked.  
  
"You might say that."  
  
"Good."  
  
Misato started the car and headed back home. For the first few minutes the ride was quiet. However, the silence was getting to both of them. Finally, Shinji broke it.  
  
"How is Asuka taking the news?"  
  
"Well, let's just say it's a good thing it's her turn to clean the apartment this week."  
  
Shinji nodded. That was expected.  
  
"Misato, could you not tell Asuka what I'm doing?"  
  
"Sure. Any particular reason not to?"  
  
"Because I'm not ready to face her yet. I'm learning, and Mizumi-sensi is a great teacher and all, but I don't think I can confront Asuka about this. At least not without hurting her."  
  
"Okay Shinji. It'll be our little secret."  
  
"Thanks Misato."  
  
The rest of the ride was in silence, but this time it was relaxing. Both had gotten some of their anxiety out and just enjoyed the ride. They got home half an hour later and went up to their apartment.  
  
"You'll have to cook dinner tonight," Misato said to Shinji, "I don't think Asuka's very willing to do anything."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Misato opened the door and the two walked in. Shinji put his stuff in his room and headed to the kitchen. As he passed Asuka's room, he thought he heard crying. No, it was Asuka. She would never cry like that. He ignored it and started on dinner.  
  
End of Chapter 1  
  
Hope all of you liked it. I know it's been a while since I've done anything with my fics, and Adaptation is coming. Don't worry. I'm just too tired right now to care too much.  
  
Z98 


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